Stencil screen construction



' Feb. 20, 1940. H. E. PLAYFORD El AL 2,191,134.

STENCIL SCREEN CONSTRUCTION Filed June 28, 1938 Patented Feb. 20, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE STENCIL SCREEN CONSTRUCTION Harry E. Playford and Franklin B. Holliger, Toledo, Ohio, assignors to Owens-Illinois Glass Company, a corporation of Ohio Application June 28, 1938, Serial No. 216,255

4 Claims. (Cl. 101-127) The present 'invention relates to stencil Designs which have been properly applied by a screens and more particularly to reticulated stencil screen method are finely divided and stencil screens which are formed of silk to which possess small closely spaced increments of the there is applied a colloid such as gelatin which vitreous enamel which are relied upon to present 5 is sensitized, exposed, and subsequently dea large surface area by means of which rapid 5 veloped to provide outlines or designs set out in driving off of the volatile constituents may occur pervious portions, the remainder of the screen in the drying oven. Designs which have been being blocked out in impervious portions. Such blurred by shifting of the screen, however, are screens are extensively used as stencils for transnot finely divided because the adjacent increferring vitreous enamel compositions or paints ments have become merged. When such designs 10 to the surfaces of glass and other vitreous or are baked, the volatile matter is not readily ceramic articles and are used in poster and other driven off and blistering, cracking, peeling and stenciling work. other forms of roughness occur in the finished- Screens of this type are usually held taut on design. I an open rectangular screen frame formed of The industrial requirements for efficient wood or other material to which the edges of stenciling of vitreous or ceramic articles such the screen are glued, stapled or otherwise seas tumblers, bottles and the like are very exactoured, the whole forming a rectangular box-like ing and demand a stencil screen which will shift structure and the screen forming the bottom neither longitudinally nor transversely and one thereof. A vitreous enamel composition or paint Which will hold its shape indefinitely on the 20 is placed on the screen and is forced through the screen frame. The base materialor mesh for a pervious portions thereof, usually by the spreadsatisfactory screen that will remain in use ining action of a squeegee. definitely has not been found in this country,

The stencil screen material for screen units although various attempts have been made to of this type is sometimes formed on a base of Weave screens from high grade silks. The only 25 cotton or other cloth. In poster work and in satisfactory screen material that has been found the stenciling of large areas, screens known as for this p p is a hand Woven Silk material wash out or "block out screens are employed. that is made in Switzerland and which must These screens are formed on a base of organdy, the fo e be imported at a y great c s s artificial or cheap silk, and invariably. are of an material, unlike any domestic brands or weaves, 30 inferior nature. When put into service. such is an extremely fine full-gauge weave and is screens will operate satisfactorily to apply two p s s d of exquisite o p- The m or three decorations or designs to the posters or terial, even after prolonged use as a stencil other articles, but soon deteriorate rapidly due Sc ee s found ot to have Stretched and in to stretching and consequent sagging. Such addition possesses uniform and lasting capillary 35 stretching as a rule occurs in the direction of characteristics among the individual screen travel of the squeegee over the surface thereof interstices. with the result that the pervious portions of the Swiss silk of this nature is very expensive at screen representing the design not only become present, costing at its source in Switzerland apwarped but shift on the surface undergoing proximately five dollars a square yard. An im- 40 decoration and blur the completed design to such port duty of 55% on the material and a reasonan extent that the edges thereof will not withprofit for th imp rt ai s t price of the stand close inspection. Frequently the screen, material in this country to nearly ten dollars in addition to stretching longitudinally, also a square yard. Notwithstanding the inducestretches transversely with the obvious result ment of a high cost and a high import duty, 45 that the design is unacceptablymisapplied. American craftsmen have been unable to dupli- Inferior screens of this nature are seldom, if cate the material or to perfect a satisfactory ever, employed for applying vitreous enamel substitute therefor, at leastnot below the cost compositions to the surfaces of vitreous or of the material in this country. However, be-

ceramic articles such as tumblers, bottles, jars cau's'"of'the relatively high cost of this imported 50 and the like, which are subsequently baked to silk screen material, efforts have been made to drive off the volatile constituents of the, enamel. utilize a hand woven material of a special weave Such use would be entirely futile because a more and constructed of metal gauze. Results along serious disadvantage than the mere blurring 0f this line have been encouraging, if expense is a the design results from shifting of the screen. factor not to be considered. The cost of metal 55 gauze material suitable for stencil screen work is at present in the neighborhood of fifteen dollars a square yard, which, although economical when compared to the use of inferior shortlived screens is not so when it is'considered that the imported silk screen materialis available.

The high cost of stencil screen material which is acceptable to the glass and ceramics industry for the decoration of vitreous and ceramic articles has given rise to this invention. The prin cipal object thereof is to provide a stencil screen unit (i. e. a stencil screen mounted upon theusual screen frame) in which the amount of stencil screen material required to. produce an efficient and long lasting unit is materially reduced Without sacrificing efficiency in operation or in the applied designs.

Another object of the invention is to provide such a stencil screen which will allow for greater visibility of the article undergoing decoration therebeneath than will the usual type of screen unit which employs its full quota of screen material.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a stencil screen including the usual stencil screen frame to which there is attached a thin sheet of flexible but non-distortable and preferably transparent skin or membrane having an opening or window therein over which extends a silk screen fragment of a sizejadequate to effect proper decoration of articles, the fragment having its edges removably secured to the edges of the opening in intimate contact therewith by means of an adhesive of a character which will firmly hold the screen fragment in position, yet which will permit manual removal of the screen fragment for the purpose of substitution of designs.

Other objects of the invention not at this time enumerated, will become apparent as the follow ing description ensues. i

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. l is a bottom plan view of a stencil screen unit constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary top plan view of the medial portion of the unit; and

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 33 of Fig. 2.

In the drawing a stencil screen frame I of generally rectangular configuration has secured to the lower side thereof by means of staples H or equivalent means a thin and preferably transparent skin or membrane l2 having a substantially rectangular opening l3 formed substantially centrally thereof. The membrane l2 may be formed of any suitable material such as sheet rubber, fibre, muslin and a great variety of other cloths, but is preferably formed of transparent Celluloid in sheet form or of a transparent cellulose ester material possessing a substantial degree of strength so that it will resist stretching and warping in use. Such a material has the additional advantage of being relatively inexpensive, its cost being practically negligible in comparison to the cost of silk screen material of the imported variety.

A silk screen fragment M which is preferably rectangular and of a size slightly larger than the size of the opening l3 extends across the latter and has its edges secured to the underneath side of the membrane l2 adjacent the edges of the opening l3 by means of a suitable adhesive l5 which, in the case of Celluloid membranes may be cellulose acetate or acetone or other solvent for the material of the membrane. The fragment is prepared in the usual manner of screen preparation and has an impervious or blockedout portion l6 and a pervious portion represented by the numeral I.

The unit-is used in the usual manner. Because The nature of the adhesive is such that, the

screen fragment ld'may manually be peeled from the membrane l2 in the manner indicated in Fig.

1 and a new screen fragment substituted therefor by the application of fresh adhesive to the juncture between the membrane and screen.

Obviously, therefore, the improved stencil screen unit of the present invention effects a material saving in screen material. This saving has in practice amounted to as much as eighty cents per unit even with relatively small screens of the type employed for decorating tumblers.

Modifications may be resorted to within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

- 1. A stencil screen unit comprising a screen frame, a membrane extending across the frame and secured thereto, there being an opening in the medial regions of said membrane remote from the frame, and a fragmentary reticulated silk stencil screen of an overall size slightly in excess of the overall size of the opening in the membrane extending across said opening and having its edges secured to the membrane adjacent the edges of said opening.

2. A stencil screen unit comprising a screen frame, a transparent membrane extending across the frame and secured thereto, there being an opening in the medial regions of said membrane remote from the frame, and a fragmentary reticulated silk stencil screen of an overall size slightly in excess of the overall size of the opening in the membrane extending across said opening and having its edges secured to the membrane adjacent the edges of said opening.

3. Astencil screen unit comprising a screen frame, a sheet of transparent Celluloid extending across the frame and secured thereto, there being an opening in the medial regions of said sheet, and a fragmentary impervious reticulated silk screen of an overall size slightly in excess of the overall size of the opening in the sheet extending across the opening and having its edges secured to the underneath side of the sheet adjacent the edges of said opening by means of a solvent for the Celluloid, said screen having a pervious portion therein representing a design through which coloring material is adapted to be forced by the spreading action of a squeegee.

-- 4. A stencil screen unit comprising a rigid open frame, a sheet of Celluloid attached to one face of said frame and extending inwardly from the frame throughout the length and width of the latter, there being an opening in the sheet centrally thereof, and a sheet of silk spanning the opening and overlapping only marginal portions of the Celluloid sheet and secured thereto by means of a solvent for the Celluloid.

HARRY E. PLAYFORD. FRANKLIN B. HOLLIGER. 

